I don't think 300,000 internet votes out of a population 45 million is really enough to justifiably brand Uribe the greatest Colombian of all time. Head out of the white, upper-middle class, internet connected city centers and you will find very little admiration for an ex-president who established paramilitaries that murdered hundreds of thousands of poor working class Colombians and forcibly displaced millions, earning Colombia the honor of having the highest internally displaced population in the world. The following "demobilization" was nothing more than a rebrand (The same paramilitaries are still active, but are now known as "BACRIM") and Uribe continues to undermine the peace process that could end more than 50 years of conflict by branding anyone with faintly progressive inclinations "terrorists" or "the Guerrilla". The greatest Colombian of all time? Please.

The problem with great leaders is that they get things done by pushing people in the way out of the way. Good on Mr Uribe to win and still be politically active. In the UK it would not have been possible for Mrs Thatcher to win the same competition (she was alive when it was run in the UK), and Brits went for the safely dead Mr Churchill!

Well she represents the UK's first woman PM, she was a grocers daughter, and in UK social mobility is thought of as a good thing. She was democratically elected, and opposed to tyrannies of all sorts, be they communist or military juntas (fascist?). The Falklands War was fought to recover British sovereign territory which had been invaded by Argentina. Hardly a colonial adventure abroad.

However your point underlines mine about how difficult it is for living leaders to win events such as this. The events which they shaped are generally too raw and contraversial. Which is why I am pleased Mr Uribe has won in Colombia.

Thinking about it I can understand why Alvaro Uribe won the prize , albeit with a small majority . He took over a country in a complete mess . The FARC controlled vast areas of the country , the army dared not enter there , kidnap pings were the order of the day , the economy a mess and public morale at an all time low . In a short period of time he fought , and pushed back , the guerrillas regaining control of parts of the country . He improved the economy and levied a new tax to pay for the vastly improved armed forces . He soon showed that the Government ran the country not a bunch of horrible terrorists involved in drug smuggling .
Added to which his successor leaves a lot to be desired . Arrogant , pompous and with a huge ego .